Ravens Make $200,000 Donation For School's New Heating/Cooling System
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's common sense: Improve the temperature in a classroom and you'll improve a child's ability to learn.
But last year, hundreds of Baltimore students struggled to learn in schools without adequate heat or air conditioning.
On Monday, the Baltimore Ravens and their players made a donation to make sure students at one school are ready for work.
It may not sound like much, but the new heating/cooling system at Lakewood Elementary School will make all the difference for the pre-k and kindergarten students who spend their days there.
Ravens players and team president Dick Cass visited the school to see what their nearly $200,000 donation has done to improve conditions at Lakewood.
"We're really proud of this project because it gives us the opportunity to directly affect the people in this city in a positive way," Ravens long snapper Morgan Cox said.
There may be no more positive way to impact the children of the city than a heating/cooling system, after images last year of freezing children, frozen pipes, and icicles dripping from school windows drove home the message. Start with the basics if you really want to create change
"No matter where you're from or where you grow up, you always want everybody to have the same kind of environment," Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley added.
Many of the children who come to Lakewood qualify for free or reduced meals and are special needs.
"I was a special ed kid," U.S. Representative for Maryland Elijah Cummings said. "They told me I'd never be able to read or write, but somebody cared about me just like somebody cares about you."
"Now these young people will have cooler and warmer classrooms because we had the involvement of the Baltimore Ravens," one school spokesperson said.
This donation was the first donation made by the NFL's Social Justice Fund.
The team is promising to match every player donation through that program to support justice initiatives and engagement in the community.
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